Thursday, September 30, 2010

Libcom interviews a member of the Seattle Solidarity Network, a directaction group that is dedicated to winning small fights against bosses andlandlords over issues such as unpaid wages and stolen deposits.

Who are you?I'm Matt, currently unemployed and living in Seattle, having moved herefrom England six years ago. I've been a member of Seattle SolidarityNetwork since it started. Before that I was in the IWW in Seattle andvarious anarchist groups, such as the Anarchist Federation in the UK.

Briefly, what is the group?Seattle Solidarity Network (SeaSol) is a small workers' and tenants'mutual aid group that focuses on winning small fights against bosses andlandlords, over issues such as unpaid wages and stolen deposits, throughthe use of collective action in the form of pickets and demonstrations.

How big is it and what dates was it active from?It's hard to say exactly how big SeaSol is. If we quantify it by officialmembership, which has only recently been introduced, around sixty. Ten toforty people turn up to the average action, and we have a contact list ofaround four hundred people - I'm guessing that at least half haveparticipated in one or more actions or events. The 'organising team' - thepeople who have agreed to a slightly higher level of commitment, who domost of the day to day work such as manning the phone tree, answeringcalls and meeting with new people - is made up of around a dozen members.

SeaSol started in the last months of 2007 and is still going strong.

How did it get started?It got started because a small group of us, mostly IWW members andanarchists in Seattle, were frustrated with our current lack of activity.The Seattle IWW general membership branch was too small and lacking inresources to attempt to organise any workplaces - the best we could dowould be offer training and support to any workers who approached usinterested in unionising their workplace, something that happens onlyoccasionally and hasn't yet progressed to an organising drive. My ownperspective originated from frustration with symbolic and ineffectualanti-war and anti-globalisation protests and anarchist propaganda groupsthat had limited relevance to most people's lives, including my own.

SeaSol started from a mixture of notions such as trying to create a flyingpicket squad or a direct action casework group in the vein of OCAP. Somemembers had a minor experience with wage reclaiming, in an individual casewhere a friend had been hired for one day at a restaurant and then toldshe was no longer needed and would not be paid as it was a "training day"- by turning up at the restaurant as a large group, they forced the ownerto pay her. Another member already had a website and email list for strikesupport news in Seattle, so we put it to a new use as well as taking itsname.

At the beginning we did not have a clear idea of exactly what we would dobut decided to focus on supporting workers and tenants in struggles, inways where we could win immediate gains rather than getting bogged down ineverlasting campaigns. Also in ways that would benefit ourselves if weever got into a conflict with our own bosses or landlords. For thatpurpose we designed two posters: "Problems with your boss?" and "Problemswith your landlord? Contact us." We put these posters up around Seattle,got a few phone calls, and that's how it started!

Why were more other more traditional organisations (e.g. trade unions) notappropriate?We wanted to do it ourselves, not through some other organisation.Persuading some other group to take up this relatively unknown approachwould have been a waste of time. It made sense to create SeaSol as aseparate organisation from the IWW for various reasons - we would not besubject to secondary picketing laws, not all the initial people involvedwere IWW members, and it would allow us to be more flexible. The variousbureaucratic NGOs and unions were too slow moving to take or even followinitiative in the area of small housing and work-related fights, anyway.

What problems did you come up against at first? How did you overcome them?As I've mentioned above, we didn't initially have a very clear idea ofwhat we were going to do - that became clearer as we went on. At first Iwas skeptical about the idea that posters would actually generate validcampaigns we could involve ourselves in - but it worked. One of the firstfew calls we received was from a shipyard worker who was pissed off aboutthe bad conditions and the complacency of his union in his workplace - sowe got together with him and made some flyers that he would distribute inhis workplace. Unfortunately this approach didn't work, there was littleinterest from his co-workers and all we received was an angry phone callfrom one of the union officials for that workplace. We didn't really havea coherent plan for how to approach this campaign. Over time we woulddevelop a set of tactics and ways of doing things. As we went along andwon a series of fights, we gained allies and recognition from othergroups, something we were lacking at the beginning.

Which remained problems the whole time?Retaining the involvement of people who approached us for help has oftenbeen a problem. We always state that Seattle Solidarity Network isn't acharity or social work, it's a mutual support network, which means weexpect that if we help you in your fight, you will help others in otherfights. Often, people will stay involved and participate in a few actionsother than their own for a month or two but then not be heard from again.However, some people who initially contacted us for support in theirstruggle have taken a more active role and joined the organising team, andmany that don't do that keep participating for months after their fighthas been won. With the introduction of membership, and a greater clarityabout what being a part of SeaSol is, it looks like we're starting to keeppeople involved more. I expect that some people will always leave aftertheir own fight is won - that shouldn't dishearten us.

Another issue that was pointed out by a former organiser is that there isa 'demographic disparity' between the organising team and the people whooften approach us for help in their fights. That is to say, the coreactivists are mostly white, and the people with the issues are more oftenfrom ethnic minorities. This may be an obstacle for some people to getmore involved in the group. There isn't much we can do, except keepfighting and as we grow, our organisation will attract people from a widerrange of backgrounds. This seems to be happening as we gradually pick uppeople from the fights we've been involved in.

One problem we've noticed in workplace-related fights is that someemployees, if for example they are faced with a picket outside therestaurant they work in, buy into the management's side of the story andresent our presence which results in reduced business and therefore losttips for them. We've successfully started countering this by making acollection amongst the demonstrators to make up for the lost tips, andclearly explaining to workers that we are not against them, we are againsttheir boss. We need to keep doing this, and start communicating more withworkers before beginning a campaign.

When did things start to gain momentum/take off?It took over four months since we first started putting posters up. Ourfirst real fight was when we were contacted by some people living in theGreenlake Motel. This "motel" was really a pay by the week long termresidence for people who couldn't pass the checks necessary to get higherquality, lower cost housing - because they had a criminal record or badcredit or housing history, or couldn't afford the usual first and lastmonth's plus a damage deposit of rented housing. They had seen our posterand complained of terrible living conditions - mould, leaks, brokenheating, etc. After some door knocking to gauge the situation some SeaSolmembers and tenants drew up a demand letter listing the repairs thatneeded to be made. We gathered a couple of dozen people and with one ofthe tenants (unfortunately the other tenants were too nervous about beingevicted) we went to the landlords' more respectable hotel and deliveredthe demand letter to the perplexed receptionist.

A few days later the landlords went round each flat and made the necessaryrepairs, while warning the tenants not to talk to "those communists". Thiswas our first significant success. This wasn't the end of the GreenlakeMotel story though - a few months later, we were contacted again - themotel had been condemned by the Health Department. The tenants, since theywere technically short term motel residents and therefore not entitled tothe same legal protections as regular tenants, were facing immediateeviction. They were more willing to fight as a group this time, and wonrelocation assistance (three months' worth of rent each) to move to betterplaces.

What struggles were you involved in?Since the beginning of 2008, we've started at least 21 fights and won 17of them. The issues being fought range from unpaid wages to unfairevictions. For a comprehensive list, our website lists almost every fightwe've been involved in - apart from a handful that never got off theground or were resolved before we had to take action.

This very short video gives a good overview of the past year's fights.

As you'll note the struggles are rather small scale, involving an issuethat only affects one or a small number of workers or tenants, who haveoften left their old job or rental situation. This is the main limitationof our current organising method. However we don't see this as a hugeobstacle because we aren't intending to limit ourselves to just thesesmall fights forever. Instead we view them as first steps to moreambitious projects. As we build up experience, confidence, membership, asupport base, contacts, reputation and so on, we intend to branch out intoother forms of organisation, such as helping set up and assisting tenants'and workplace groups. We are committed to a flexible, experimentalapproach. I view these small fights as a training ground for classstruggle organising, from which we can progress to bigger, morecollective, more prolonged projects.

What types of action did you take?Every fight starts with a 'demand delivery' like the one linked here. Weturn up as a large group at the boss or landlord's office or business. Theperson with the issue hands a demand letter stating what needs to be doneto the boss by a certain deadline of one or two weeks. This is basically ashow of strength - the worker or tenant is supported by a large group ofpeople - and a warning. The boss or landlord can give in now, or therewill be trouble later.

If we're lucky, the boss or landlord will give in before the deadline. Ifnot, we start an escalating campaign. We start fairly small, then increasethe pressure by adding more types of actions, more often, of increasingsize. Our mainstay is a picket of a dozen or so people outside the enemy'splace of business. If it's a restaurant or shop, this often proveseconomically devastating, reducing sales by half or more during the timeswe are there. Other techniques we use are poster campaigns to turn awayprospective tenants, public embarrassment by leafleting the boss's churchor neighbourhood, interfering with suppliers or business partners, phoneand internet actions, and anything else we can think of. We try to bepretty imaginative.

What links did you have with other groups of workers? (Other sectors,other countries, political groups, etc.)We occasionally cooperate with the comite de defensa trabajadora of CasaLatina, the more direct action oriented section of a local NGO. We supporteach others campaigns and sometimes do joint actions. We've also donestrike support, such as turning up to the picket lines at the recent CocaCola strike. We were planning to support a campaign around reducingmortgage rates by a militant section of the plumbers' union, but thatnever materialised. We work closely with the IWW where applicable, mostrecently by doing a solidarity action for the newly formed Jimmy JohnsWorkers Union.

The newest join project is with IWSJ, a student and worker group at theUniversity of Washington centered around a rank and file group ofjanitors. They are interested in doing SeaSol-type actions within thelow-paid immigrant communities they have good links with, and we areinterested in learning about workplace groups from them. We'll see howthat develops.

We are trying to support and encourage the formation of solidaritynetworks around the world, such as the Olympia, Tacoma, and GlasgowSolidarity Networks. We are offering support and training to new groupswhenever we can. We have also been in contact with workers' centres, whichhave some similarities to SeaSol, such as the Lansing Workers Center, andare interested in learning more about the advantages and differences withthis kind of organising.

Personally, I've been trying to convince anarchist groups and individualsof the usefulness of setting up solidarity networks...

How open is SeaSol with their politics? Are you openly anarchist?As an individual member I'm openly anarchist within SeaSol (as are manyothers). SeaSol isn't an anarchist organisation, but it is based onprinciples of mutual aid, direct action and direct democracy. While allthe founding members were anarchist or close to it, the majority of themembership aren't necessarily. SeaSol is however an environment wherealmost everyone is open to anarchist ideas, because they are a logicalextension of what we are doing - fighting together against bosses andlandlords, planning things collectively, pooling our resources, realisingthat we have power together.

What have you learned from your experiences in the group?Many things. I know that in any future job I would be far more confidentin fighting back against management. I feel more able to organise at work,when I wouldn't really have known where to start before. It has been verysatisfying to apply anarchist ideas of direct action and solidarity andsee them work effectively. I've learnt how to view things tactically andstrategically. I've learnt how to investigate and research targets, how tocommunicate better and build links with people. I've tasted collectivepower. I think it's been quite an empowering experience for many of us inSeaSol, and I hope it continues...

What lessons do you think other workers can take from your group?That even in these times of defeat and economic depression it's stillquite feasible to fight back and win. That anarchist ideas work in reallife. That collective direct action around small issues is an effectivestarting point for further struggle...

Do you have a favourite anecdote or memory related to the organisation?It's been amusing to see bosses' anguish when things don't go their way.They are often quite disappointed when a quick call to the police doesn'tresult in our disappearance, since we are doing nothing illegal. I likeseeing the look of confusion and panic when a large group of peoplesuddenly invades their private space. One particularly funny memory isbeing threatened with a baseball bat by a hotel owner's minion, who thendecided to call the police on us. He ended up admitting intent to assaultwith a deadly weapon to the police...